Circles of Innovationhttp://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu
Circles of Innovation | Where good ideas collide and great discoveries are made possible!Thu, 14 Feb 2019 19:35:53 +0000en-UShourly1http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/files/2017/09/cropped-circlessite-32x32.jpgCircles of Innovationhttp://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu
323250290285Embedding a LibGuide in Canvas with the new LTI Toolhttp://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2019/01/18/embedding-a-libguide-in-canvas-with-the-new-lti-tool/
http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2019/01/18/embedding-a-libguide-in-canvas-with-the-new-lti-tool/#respondFri, 18 Jan 2019 18:14:45 +0000http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/?p=8218Did you know that the library has recently upgraded Valencia’s software subscription to LibGuides (http://libguides.valenciacollege.edu/ ) to a version which includes an LTI for embedding LibGuides in Canvas. This new version allows faculty to embed entire guides or particular pages or boxes from guides at either the module level or the page level. Special thanks to Karli Mair and Ciara Hensley for the training video.

Installing and Using Hypothesis in Canvas

This saves you and your students time by allowing for single sign-on use of Hypothesis:

The Hypothesis LMS app automatically provisions accounts for all students enrolled in any course using the app. This means that students can navigate to a Hypothesis-enabled reading and begin annotating without ever creating or logging into a separate account. Even better, the entire course roster of students and teachers will all be joined and annotate by default in an automatically-created private Hypothesis group that matches the course in the LMS.

Using Hypothesis in Your Course: Pedagogical Techniques

More Videos: Using Hypothesis in Canvas

Here are some recent videos posted by Hypothesis on using their tool in Canvas:

]]>http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2019/01/14/hypothesis/feed/08163Anticipating and Addressing Student Resistance in Your Courseshttp://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2019/01/14/student-resistance/
http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2019/01/14/student-resistance/#respondMon, 14 Jan 2019 19:13:23 +0000http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/?p=8150There have long been calls to incorporate evidence-based teaching techniques and technologies in the classroom to improve student success. For example the 2012 “Engage to Excel” report by the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) notes that “Classroom approaches that engage students in ‘active learning’ improve retention of information and critical thinking skills.”

Sometimes it may seem risky to try something new or nontraditional in your class, however, partly because of the uncertainty about how students may react. And even when you are not trying anything new at all, some students may passively or even actively show signs of resistance or dissatisfaction, for various reasons.

There are actually many potential barriers to the adoption of evidence-based teaching techniques and technologies, such as: lack of time, insufficient resources or support, and, the topic of this post, the possibility of student resistance, which in turn might negatively impact student satisfaction and ratings.

How can we design and facilitate our courses in order to anticipate and reduce the potential for student resistance? There are several techniques one may employ, many of which are backed by research. First, however, let’s look at the causes and types of student resistance, and then we’ll look at strategies for addressing it.

Examples of Student Resistance

Several examples of student resistance are listed in the book. They divide the examples by the type of the resistance (passive or active) and the motivation for the resistance (asserting autonomy or self-preservation):

So it is not as bad a problem as we might think. However, there is still a likelihood of student resistance, especially when you first adopt a new technique.

What can we do to anticipate and address the potential for student resistance in our courses? Again, feel free to share your own thoughts and ideas below, and here is a list of some strategies that have been identified by others.

Explanation Strategies

Providing students with a rationale for using active learning in the classroom by explaining how the activities relate to their learning, connecting the activities with course topics, discussing their relevance to industry

Communicating overall course expectations for student participation at the beginning of the semester

Providing explicit instructions about what students are expected to do for a specific active learning exercise

Facilitation Strategies

Establishing verbal or non-verbal cues such as setting a tone for risk taking, caring about students’ success, encouraging responses by using uncomfortable silences, etc.

Confronting students who are not participating in activities by physically approaching them, calling on them during more structured lecture, etc.

Using points or grades to encourage participation

Walking around the room during active learning instruction

Encouraging students to provide feedback about an in-class activity

Prompting students to ask questions about an activity during that activity

Establishing an “active learning” routine by having a standard type of “bell work,”

Creating student groups, reframing tasks, etc

Use incremental activities: giving hints, decomposing a problem into parts,…

Some more concrete details about strategies are listed below.

1. Framing: Explaining to Your Students

Here are some examples of instructors explaining to their students the rationale for using some new teaching technique or technology:

2. Student Testimonials

Instead of you trying to explain the rationale, have former students explain what it takes to succeed in your course.

This is a technique that may not only help reduce potential student anxiety and resistance, but it also has been shown in studies to improve students’ sense of belonging, which in turn reduces equity gaps, including for international students and minority students.

2a. Video Testimonials

You can create or have your students create video testimonials. Here is a “realistic job preview” video by and for students taking courses online:

“When I first started the course, I worried that I was different from the other students. Everyone else seemed so certain it was the right level for them and were so happy to take it. But I wasn’t sure I fit in – if I would make friends, if people would respect me. Several days after I started, I came to realize that almost everyone who takes the course feels uncertain at first about whether they fit in. It’s something everyone goes through. Now it seems ironic – everybody feels different at first, when really we’re all going through the same things.”

2c. Ask Students to Reflect on the Explanation/Testimonials – Not Just Watch or Read

If you just have students passively watch or read an explanation or testimonial, it may have no impact on improving their success in the course. Here is a sample writing activity students did after reading the aforementioned student testimonial:

Now consider the strategies and insights for how to learn best that you just read. What are your own strategies and insights about how to learn best? And, how are they similar or different to the ones that you just heard about from other students? Please write at least a paragraph. Focus on your thoughts and feelings, and don’t worry about spelling, grammar, or how well written it is.

2d. Generating / Creating Student Testimonials

You’ll also have to think about how you will collect and present student testimonials. Will you ask former students to visit your class and speak with the current students? Or create a video or collect written testimonials? Here is how student testimonials were collected in the aforementioned article:

New students really appreciate hearing directly from students who already have some experience with learning in an online course. To give the new incoming learners a chance to hear directly from somewhat more experienced learners, we would like you to write a note to an incoming learner about your experience and what you’ve learned so far. Write about how they may feel unsure at first of their belonging in the online course but ultimately come to feel that they belong. We will give your note to a student who enrolls in the course for similar reasons as yourself, so you can imagine it is a student like you. We know it can be difficult to write that way, but we believe it will be particularly meaningful for new learners if they feel as though a more experienced learner is speaking directly to them.

The remaining strategies for addressing student resistance are related to soliciting feedback from your students about your teaching and the course. By getting their feedback early and throughout the semester, you can make adjustments that will help improve student satisfaction and learning and reduce student resistance, as opposed to waiting for the traditional end of course survey when it is too late to make changes for those students.

3. Midterm Student Feedback

Midterm Student Feedback (MSF) involves collecting feedback from students near the start or middle of a course in order to give the instructor an opportunity to make adjustments and improvements. Usually an outside consultant collects the feedback and provides guidance for the instructor on translating the feedback into positive changes in the course. The entire process is confidential to the instructor and anonymous for the students.

4. Minute Papers, Exit Tickets

You can also collect feedback from students yourself by asking students to answer questions at the end of class (exit ticket) or the end of an assignment or module. Here are some examples of the types of questions you might be interested in asking.

What was the most important point of the class?

What question remains unanswered in your mind?

What question from this class might appear on the next quiz/test?

What was the muddiest point of the class?

What was the main concept illustrated by the in-class demonstration/experiment?

Here are some of the types of questions you might want to ask when your students turn in a paper assignment:

Paper 2: In writing this essay, what did you learn that surprised you? When editing your paper, what were you unsure about?

Paper 3: Point out specific places in your argument at which you were aware of accommodating your audience (their knowledge or attitudes). Point out places in which you used sentences for rhetorical effect.

Paper 4: Why did you choose this particular arrangement?
What would you do differently if you had more time?

How will you collect feedback from students to improve upon what you are doing in your courses? Doing so may also help reduce student resistance, as well.

]]>http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2019/01/14/student-resistance/feed/08150Digi-Know About Final Grades in Canvashttp://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/12/07/digi-know-about-final-grades-in-canvas/
http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/12/07/digi-know-about-final-grades-in-canvas/#respondFri, 07 Dec 2018 05:01:35 +0000http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/?p=7715Digs-Know that in Canvas there is a difference between current grades (the ones you see in the canvas grade book) and final grades (the ones canvas exports to Banner)? Watch the video below to learn more.
]]>http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/12/07/digi-know-about-final-grades-in-canvas/feed/07715Circles of Innovation On Demandhttp://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/10/01/circles-of-innovation-on-demand/
http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/10/01/circles-of-innovation-on-demand/#respondMon, 01 Oct 2018 18:31:16 +0000http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/?p=7505

So, perhaps you got an email, heard from your Dean or a colleague, or maybe even just saw it on the Circles of Innovation website, and you are wondering “What is Circles of Innovation on Demand?” Well this year, based on feedback from faculty, the Circles team is trying out a new on-demand model of Professional Development. It’s a little like Netflix meets Faculty Development, and we arecalling it Circles of Innovation on Demand. The course will cover multiple advanced topics in Canvas, and will be open from today through April 12, 2019. Here are some things you should know about the format for the new course:

To sign up, all you have to do is click on this link, log in to Atlas, and request access to the course. Within a day or two, you will notice that you have been signed up for PRFC 3168, a canvas course that we are using for Circles this year. In this course, you will have access to our “Digi Know” Series Videos, Our Webinars, and our Mentored Implementation Projects.

The Digi-Know videos are not for PD Credit. They are simply videos we have been developing as we have gotten questions and ideas from the Canvas Essentials courses. Each video is between 30 seconds to 5 minutes in length, and each gives you the Digital Knowhow you need to innovate and improve workflows in your Canvas courses. (Feel free to binge watch them all or share them with others, we will be adding more all year).

This fall we are offering 3 webinar topics (worth 1 PD credit each):

Using the Canvas GradeBook: Tips, Tricks & Best Practices

Enhanced Visuals: Best Practices for Images in Canvas

Video Discussions with FlipGrid.

To get credit for a webinar, simply reserve your seat, attend the session, and complete the post webinar assessment survey. These dates do have limited availability, so reserve your seat today.

After completing the webinars, you are given access to related Mentored Implementation Projects (worth 4 PD credits each). If you find a topic interesting, these projects allow you to do a deeper dive while working one-on-one with the Circles facilitator to learn more and bring various innovations to life within your own classes.

So, if you are ready to try Professional Development On-Demand. Sign up today! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact James May. He would be happy to answer any of your Circles of Innovations related questions.

Below are some arguments for open textbooks explained in more detail and updated with more recent research and data. But the gist is – open textbooks not only save students money, they can help improve student success, as well.

Background – The High Cost of Textbooks

How many students do you think have avoided purchasing a required textbook for a course?

Textbook prices have increased 88% in the past decade, compared with a 63% increase in tuition. 37% of community college courses require students to purchase an access code (Student PIRGS, 2016). Faculty report the average prices of their textbook is $97, and only 9% of faculty report adopting an open textbook (Seaman & Seaman, 2017). Students spend an average of over $1200 a year on textbooks (College Board, 2017).

Benefits of Open Textbooks

1. Saving Students Money

Individual faculty, colleges, and states adopting open textbooks are saving students millions of dollars every year, with the total approaching $1 billion in savings worldwide. See this list of the amount of money saved at some institutions:

Four states (California, Oregon, Texas and Washington) recently passed legislation requiring the labeling of courses that use open textbooks and open educational resources (OERs), and colleges like Tidewater Community College are creating entire degree programs that utilize free resources. Students in these open textbook courses persisted at a 6% higher rate and take more credits each semester than students in traditional courses (InsideHigherEd, 2017).

2. Increasing Student Success

But saving money for students isn’t the only benefit of open textbooks – student grades and course passing rates may increase, as well.

A 2015 study of over 15,000 students in 15 courses found that in 4 of the courses students had better grades with open textbooks and 9 showed no significant difference. Students in courses using open textbooks also enrolled in a higher number of credits in the following semester (Fischer et al., 2015). What about that one course where students had better grades with the commercial textbook (Business 110)? It turns out that “21% of students in the commercial textbook condition withdrew from the course while only 6% of students in the OER condition withdrew from the course” (p. 165, ibid).

A 2018 study of over 10,000 students found that ”students using the print format of the open textbook perceive its quality to be superior to the commercial textbook. Moreover, students assigned an open textbook in either format [paper or online] perform either no differently from or better than those assigned a commercial textbook” (Jhangiani et al., 2018).

In 2016, John Hilton III reviewed 16 studies on open textbooks and found that “students generally achieve the same learning outcomes when OER are utilized and simultaneously save significant amounts of money. Studies across a variety of settings indicate that both students and faculty are generally positive regarding OER” (Hilton, 2016).

Search through the largest list of existing open textbooks at the Open Textbook Library. Browse through the subject-based directory of thousands of open textbooks at College Open Textbooks. See if there are textbooks related to your courses!

Check out the Rebus Community to connect with other folks interested in creating or editing open textbooks.

FlipGrid is a free video discussion tool that allows for threaded video discussions in your Canvas course. It’s become very popular in both K-12 schools and college classes lately, possibly even more popular that Kahoot And Microsoft recently bought FlipGrid and opened up all the premium features (such as maximum video length, now 5 minutes) for everyone for free. Here is a video of James May introducing FlipGrid:

I might recommend if you create a FlipGrid assignment in your course to link to those videos (or make your own) to help students both see how to successfully use FlipGrid and also help assuage any fears some may have about recording video.

How to Set Up and Use FlipGrid as a Teacher in Canvas

It is missing a few things that may come up though: 1) what do you need to do when you roll over your course from one semester to another? 2) what if you have more than one instructor/facilitator, and 3) what if you share your course with someone else to use?

This video walks through setting up and using FlipGrid in Canvas, and it addresses those issues at the end:

But as to those 3 issues about using FlipGrid in Canvas:

When rolling over your Canvas course from one semester to another, go back to each of your FlipGrid assignments and create a new grid to use.

If you have more than one instructor/facilitator, click on the FlipGrid link in the course navigation menu and click on “Add CoPilot” to add another person who can administer the FlipGrid grids in the course.

If someone else copies your Canvas course or if you import and use a Canvas course that someone else created and which uses FlipGrid, go to Settings -> Apps -> View App Configurations, and enter your own FlipGrid consumer key and shared secret as explained in the handout and video above. Then go to each FlipGrid assignment and create a grid to use.

Other FlipGrid Options: Captions and Email Notifications

A couple of things I didn’t mention in the video: captions are not enabled by default in FlipGrid, and by default you will get an email notification every time a student posts a video.

To enable captions (which I recommend), click on the FlipGrid link in your course navigation menu, then click the pencil icon, scroll down, and toggle on the “Captions” option.

If you wish to turn off email notifications, toggle off the “Notify Me” option.

Pedagogical Uses for FlipGrid

FlipGrid seems like an excellent tool to use for an introductory discussion, so that folks can get to know each other. And it’s also not hard to see using it in courses like a foreign language course where students can use it to practice speaking in the language they are learning. But FlipGrid has also been popular in STEM and all kinds of courses. See for example:

]]>http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/09/26/flipgrid/feed/07453How to Embed Videos & Interactive Media in Canvashttp://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/09/17/embedding/
http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/09/17/embedding/#respondMon, 17 Sep 2018 14:35:30 +0000http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/?p=7449Have you ever wanted to embed a video or a 3rd party interactive widget in your course? This lets students watch your video or use a 3rd party tool right in Canvas without having to open up a separate page.

Embedding Videos

There are actually 4 different ways to embed videos in Canvas. The simplest and quickest way is to embed Youtube videos with the “insert/edit media” button on the bottom left of the editor toolbar in Canvas. Just paste in the link to the Youtube video and it takes care of the rest. The video below walks through how to do that, as well as the other ways to embed videos and interactive widgets that have an “embed code.”

Embedding 3rd Party Tools

Here are some other 3rd party tools that you can embed in Canvas using the embed code:

H5P – this is an awesome free site with dozens of free interactive widgets that you can create and embed in Canvas, including: interactive video quizzes, drag & drop quizzes, image hotspot questions, flashcards, image sequencing, speak the words, etc. Click the “embed” button at the bottom of any H5P widget to get the embed code.

If you teach STEM, there are some tools out there that support embedding like Geogebra, PHET (physics simulations), Desmos, MathType, …

If you teach programming, you can embed tools like Github gists, Glitch, CodePen, etc.

Try searching for the name of a tool + “embed” or “embed code” + “canvas” or “canvaslms” to see if and how to embed it into Canvas. Some tools have LTI integration (apps) instead of using embed codes, like FlipGrid, VoiceThread, Piazza, etc. Go to Settings in your course and then click the Apps tab at the top to see some more examples, and see also our page on integrating publisher tools in Canvas.

]]>http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/09/17/embedding/feed/07449How Ready are You to Teach Online in Canvas?http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/09/04/how-ready-are-you-to-teach-online-in-canvas/
http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/09/04/how-ready-are-you-to-teach-online-in-canvas/#respondTue, 04 Sep 2018 16:07:15 +0000http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/?p=7427Are you prepared to teach online courses in Canvas? Take this Canvas Online Teaching Readiness Self-Assessment to see for yourself. At the end of the survey, you’ll receive links to resources related to each of the questions. This survey is being used in the Boot Camp for Online Instruction PD course. You can also download and import the survey from Canvas Commons.

]]>http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/09/04/how-ready-are-you-to-teach-online-in-canvas/feed/07427Curriculum Builderhttp://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/08/21/curriculum-builder/
http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/08/21/curriculum-builder/#respondTue, 21 Aug 2018 16:14:28 +0000http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/?p=7413Special thanks to Beth King and the library team for sharing this video about Curriculum Builder, a tool that allows faculty & staff to create reading lists of library resources inside of Canvas. What a great tool to help us start a new semester! According to Beth:

“It works best with databases produced by EBSCO, such as Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete, PsycArticles, and Humanities Source. It does pick up some articles that come from other library vendors like Gale and JSTOR, but it requires a login for those resources.”

Evidence-based teaching refers to teaching strategies and principles for which there have been research studies indicating their effectiveness at improving student learning, engagement, attitudes, or other factors related to academic success. This resource is not meant to be comprehensive. As detailed in the table below, there are many different types and scopes of evidence-based pedagogical strategies and principles, and this resource only begins to tackle just one small part of this space. And this is not to suggest that only evidence-based teaching strategies are useful or valid. Just as in medicine, science, engineering, and other disciplines, we must constantly experiment with strategies when teaching, even when there is not, or especially when there is not, a solid research base to help inform decisions.

Some Categories of Evidence-Based Teaching Strategies & Principles

Briefer, Targeted Strategies

Broader or More Comprehensive Techniques

More Concrete Strategies

These are some of the strategies covered in this Canvas resource:

Minute Paper

Student Testimonials

Transparent Assignments

Value Affirmation

Discussion Protocols

Nudges

Wrappers

Midterm Student Feedback

Examples of some face-to-face in-class strategies (which are not addressed in this Canvas resource):

Thank you for coming to my session today at the BJ Moore Center for Faculty Innovation. As I noted in the presentation, this page is your outsourced memory for the session. Feel free to take any of these ideas and remix them and share them as you see fit. If you would like to contact me, please feel free to email me: James May.

Key Vocabulary

Transactive Memory – a psychological hypothesis first proposed by Daniel Wegner describing the mechanisms through which groups collectively encode, store, and retrieve knowledge. Today we transact memory through our devices.

The Adjacent Possible – Recently Popularized by Steven Johnson, the Adjacent Possible is “a kind of shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself.” And an interesting truth about it is that with each new thing you learn, you open doors to new ways to combine and remix the possibilities. Consider YouTube.

Circles Challenge

Let’s start with a quick activity to open a discussion about the differences between teachers and 21st century students. Please take out a pen or pencil, and I will give you the instructions and a handout for the task. This activity is a fun way to build creative confidence and maximize growth mindset. Feel free to use this activity with your students as well.

They Crave Video

The YouTube App – Have you considered making videos for your students? A great tool to have is the YouTube App. With this tool, teachers can make and share videos with their students. Android – Apple iOS – Microsoft Store

Screencasting is a Teacher Trick that should be in every teacher’s toolkit. Simply put, screencasting is recording your computer screen while recording your voice to make a video that can be shared with others. You can make instructional videos, feedback videos, showcase videos, interactive videos and more. While there are many tools that teachers can buy for screencasting, there are now some really great ones that are free and play right in the browser. Below, we have put a quick introduction to Screencastify which is a plug in for the Google Chrome browser. This tool lets teachers and students make screencasts and easily share them to their Google Drive accounts or to their Youtube accounts. Enjoy!

They prefer F2F, but are phygital about it

Flipgrid – Flipgrid is where your students go to share ideas and learn together. It’s where students amplify and feel amplified. It’s video the way students use video. Short. Authentic. And fun! That’s why it’s the leading video discussion platform used by tens of millions of PreK to PhD educators, students, and families in 150 countries

They are More Independent and Competitive than the Millennials

Gamified, Competitive Retrieval Practice

In 350 BCE, Aristotle wrote that “exercise in repeatedly recalling a thing strengthens the memory.”

Take advantage of the the “Testing Effect,” also known as “Retrieval Practice” to make the most out of your instruction. Learning is good, but retrieving is better, so may want to consider some retrieval practice games.

They Expect to Be Catered To

]]>http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/08/13/bricks-clicks-and-teacher-tricks-for-engaging-gen-z/feed/07377Short Links to Canvas Resourceshttp://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/08/09/shortlinks/
http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/08/09/shortlinks/#respondThu, 09 Aug 2018 14:35:24 +0000http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/?p=7362Here are some quick & short links to various Canvas resources available to you, if you find them useful.

Once a year, Instructure hosts the InstructureCon conference in Colorado where folks can share tips and news about the Canvas learning management system. This year’s conference starts today, and our very own James May is attending. This year’s conference has a carnival theme, hence the “InstructureCarn” label.

Learn about local and online Canvas conferences, such as CanvasCon that happens each year in Florida and in other places, and the online Can•Innovate conference this October 26th.

Have fun!

]]>http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/07/24/canvas-community/feed/07342Images Not Showing Up in Canvas? Here’s What You Can Dohttp://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/06/27/canvas-broken-images/
http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/2018/06/27/canvas-broken-images/#respondWed, 27 Jun 2018 18:02:36 +0000http://circlesofinnovation.valenciacollege.edu/?p=7292

Occasionally you may notice that one or more images do not appear to be loading on a page in Canvas – especially pages that have a lot of images. Usually this is just a temporary issue and reloading the page fixes it.

Why does this happen?

There are various reasons why this may happen – the Valencia network is clogged, Canvas servers are overloaded, your computer is overloaded, etc. When you load a page from a web server like Canvas, your web browser may actually be making dozens of requests to the server – one for each image and CSS and javascript file used on the web page. This puts a brief but potentially heavy load on your computer, your home or school network, and the Canvas servers.

How can I fix this issue?

First, make sure you are not using an old computer with insufficient memory/RAM or an out of date operating system or browser. Canvas will not work correctly with Internet Explorer, for example. Try the Chrome, Firefox, or Safari browser instead.

Make sure also you have a decent Internet connection. If you are trying to connect over a poor wifi or cellular signal, that may also cause the issue. Run a speed test to see how fast your Internet connection is.

If images are not showing up in one course but they show up fine in others, it may be because you (or the course builder) copied and pasted images into the course rather than uploading images into the course. Copying and pasting images from one course to another does not work. The pasted images are still being loaded (or not loaded) from a different course that you may not have access to. Run the link validator in Canvas to check for and fix broken images and links.

If none of those are issues in your case, try one or more of the options below, starting with the first:

Option 1. Reload the page

If a simple reload of the page does not appear to be fixing the issue (control-R or command-R on macs), try control-shift-R (or command-shift-R on macs) to reload the page and force everything to re-download. Your browser keeps a cache (store) of images and files it has downloaded before. Control-shift-R should tell the browser to re-download everything.

That usually fixes the issue for me, but if things are still not working and you don’t think it is poor network connectivity, there are some “stronger” options below that you can try.

Option 2. Empty cache and hard reload

Sometimes it is necessary to empty that cache first to force all images or other files to be downloaded again.

In chrome, you can hit control-shift-i (or command-shift-i on macs) to open the developer console pane on the right. Then right-click (or control-click on macs) on the reload button and select Empty Cache and Hard Reload, as pictured below. Hit control-shift-i again to close the developer tools pane.

Option 3. Clear browser data

In Chrome, you can clear all the images and files stored by your browser. Click the 3 vertical dots on the top right of Chrome, go to Settings, and scroll to the bottom and click on Advanced. Click on Clear Browsing Data. You can also get there directly by going to this URL: chrome://settings/clearBrowserData

Option 4. Clear Chrome browser extension

Another option is to install the Clear Chrome browser extension for Chrome. It adds a button in the toolbar that will clear your cache any time you press the button (and optionally it will reload the page for you, too).

How can I lower the chance of this issue happening in my course?

I would recommend not using very large images in your Canvas pages, and not too many images. You might try to keep your individual images under 100kb and the total size of all images on your page under 1mb.

Try an image editor like Pixlr to resize your images to be smaller in file size (go to Image -> Image size to resize).